


We've met the world. What's next?

by your_local_trash



Category: Boy Meets World, Girl Meets World
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2020-05-21
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:14:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23765176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/your_local_trash/pseuds/your_local_trash
Summary: Shawn Hunter has always been in love with Cory Matthews. After the birth of Cory and Topanga's daughter, Shawn leaves New York and onto figure out what his life is without Cory Matthews 1 year later and Shawn gets some interesting news. Chaos ensues.
Relationships: Shawn Hunter/Cory Matthews, Topanga Lawrence-Matthews/Cory Matthews
Comments: 6
Kudos: 33





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I recently got Disney+ and have been rewatching old Boy meets world / Girl meets world episodes and honestly Shawn deserved better. After discussing it with a friend a very frustrated me decided to take things into my own hands and....well here we are. I really hope yall enjoy it. Also, I haven't seen every single episode of BMW but I've seen a good amount so if I get anything wrong apologies in advance. Anyways thanks for stopping bye. Enjoy.

December 8th, 2001 was one of the best and worst days of Shawn Patrick Hunter's life. It started small, the feelings he had slowly gnawed at him festering underneath his skin begging to be released. His body had been at war with itself for the past nine months and yet the day had finally come. At 6 am on the dot a baby girl was born in the small New York hospital and by 7 Shawn had packed his bags and boarded the nearest train out of there. Looking back his life had always revolved around the lives of Cory and Topanga Matthews they were the sun to his small inconsequential earth, revolving around in a series of unending circles yet always at a distance. It wasn't always like this as kids Cory and Shawn were inseparable, maybe a bit too close for the liking of Mr. and Mrs. Matthews. There were always whispers and jokes about the closeness of Cory and Shawn. Cory remained unaware as always and from what Shawn heard he paid no mind to them, he was the trailer park kid this was just an added jab. Once Shawn and Cory grew a bit older Topanga came into their lives differently than before not as a friend but as a love interest. From then on it became Cory and Shawn and Topanga. At first, Shawn thought he was annoyed that Topanga was taking Cory's attention away from him, they were after all best friends and with Topanga added into the mix Shawn saw less and less of Cory. Then one-day things clicked. The feelings he was experiencing seemed to consume his every waking moment, a sharp bitter sludge boiling just underneath his skin until as all boiling things...he exploded.   
Cory and Topanga were cute together. One could say perfect for each other. Enter one Jennifer Bassett. Shawn thought she was pretty, tall and blonde all in all she was perfect. In an effort to escape the whirlpool that was Cory and Topanga he asked her out and to his surprise, she said yes. Jennifer was good at a lot of things most notably kissing. She kissed in a way that made the world blur and made all of Shawn's thoughts turn to mush...all thoughts except one. One he was sure he had buried deep inside of himself. As her tongue entered his mouth he couldn't help but imagine it was Cory he was kissing. He couldn't help but imagine what it would be like to hold Cory's waist close as he deepened the kiss. And like a violent eruption that bitter feeling that he could never pin had a name...Jealousy. Jennifer wasn't an idiot she slowly picked up the distant almost far away look her boyfriend got whenever he was kissing her, the way he incessantly babbled about his best friend Cory. He was in love....just not with her.   
Shawn really liked how Jennifer was taller than him and how she always took control and was assertive but mostly because kissing her felt really close to kissing Cory and he reveled in that fact. Then Jennifer dumped him not wanting to play second fiddle to Cory Matthews. Shawn was heartbroken not so much at the loss of Jennifer but at the closest thing he had to Cory. Then after a confrontation, she took Shawn back on the stipulation that Cory keeps out of their relationship this further messed with Shawn's feelings as the more he longed to be with Cory the more his feelings were dragged out into the open...where he couldn't just deny them to himself anymore. Being with Cory was once something that came as second nature to Shawn slowly turned into a game of walking on eggshells worried that at some moment he would screw up and out himself and scare Cory away. He tried dulling his feelings, replacing them. And like before enter one Angela Moore.   
For the most part, he could bottle up the feelings and pretend they didn't exist. He had Cory as a friend. That could be enough. It had to be enough. Cory and Topanga's wedding day was difficult for Shawn to say the least. He had gotten into a fight with Cory and had decided he wasn't gonna go to the wedding. The wedding was affecting him on two levels. One he was losing his best friend and two...he was losing the love of his life. Biting the bullet he turned around and after a small altercation, the wedding proceeded without a hitch. As the lovely couple said their "I Do's" Shawn couldn't help but picture himself in Topanga's spot, beaming at Cory like he was perfect. And to Shawn, he was. And as he gave his Best-Friend speech he couldn't help but feel like a puppet, empty and moving for an audience as someone slowly picked at his strings.   
After the wedding things shifted in their friendship. Topanga was a bit more venomous in her attitude toward Shawn, especially in how close he was with her husband. She would constantly put Cory into positions where he had to choose between the two of them and 9 times out of 10 he wouldn't choose Shawn.   
These feelings escalated after they all moved to New York together, Topanga would pick fights and Shawn was always at the root of it all. Then a few months later Topanga was pregnant. The farther along she got the more Shawn could feel himself slowly dying. After all they went through a small part of Shawn always longed for Cory and within that small part grew hope. Hope that maybe one day Cory would look at him like he looked at Topanga. The farther along Topanga got the permanency of Cory and Topanga's marriage finally set in and Shawn could feel his strings straining. December 8th, 2001. 6 am. Riley Matthews is born and as he holds the crying baby in his arms Shawn can feel his strings severing as he falls into the Darkness. As the train leaves the station Shawn wonders if he'll ever see Cory again. If Cory will miss him or even notice his absence with his new family. The train takes off pulling Shawn into an unknown future.


	2. The Letter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shawn's life post cory and the introduction of a certain letter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here the real plot begins.

For the next few months, post-Cory Matthews Shawn was for lack of a better word, a mess. The days and nights blurred forward and backward and swirled with the pink and yellow of the mornings paired with the blue and black of the night until no one not even Shawn could tell how much time had passed. Shawn was used to being alone. He had a lifetime of experience under his belt, but for the first time in a very long time, no one cared what happened to Shawn Hunter. If he went missing who would care? Who would miss him? Sure there was Jack but he was god knows where with the Peace Corps. So with nothing holding him down, he did what he did best. He ran. Cory was one of the few people who grabbed him and pulled him close. He was one of the few people who wouldn't let Shawn run away. But that was then. Cory isn't here anymore. 

1 Year Later

The Philadelphia weather had nothing on the intense sun ridden days of Los Angeles. As Shawn entered the small motel room he seriously reconsidered the choices he made that brought him up to this point. His body was drenched in sweat as the sun set welcoming the cool night. He turned on a small fan. As the head moved from left to right spreading the heat between its thin metal blades he threw himself onto his bed. He was currently employed by this small-time website called Hit The Road where he wrote cheap little pieces on different places across the map. The pay seemed less than legal and most of the trip expenses came out of pocket. At times Shawn felt as if he was paying to keep his own job, but as long as he had a roof to sleep under at the end of each day he was happy. Working for the site meant he was never in each place for longer than a week or two. He quickly became a shadow to the world around him watching as people enjoyed themselves with friends and family as he sat by jumping from motel to motel. He laid down and amongst the heat, he slowly knocked out letting the darkness envelop him as his eyes shut.

He awoke the next morning to a sharp knocking. Groggily he stumbled towards the door and was met with the son of the man who ran the motel. The boy was thin, lanky and his face was pale and sunken in, made even worse by the harsh shadows of the bright morning light.  
"Are you a Mr. Hunter?"  
Shawn rolled his eyes and bit back a laugh. He was 19 going on 20 and throughout his life, few people aside from Feeny referred to him as Mr.Hunter. It made him feel older than he was.  
"Yeah?"  
"This arrived late yesterday."  
He handed Shawn a small envelope.  
"Did you happen to ask how whoever this is from...found me?"  
A flash of worry flashed through his mind on the owner of the piece of paper. As ridiculous as it sounds. A small part of him wondered if it was from Cory.  
"Not really, It just came with the mail yesterday. Sorry."  
"It's fine...Thanks." As Shawn thanked him he slowly closed the door with a dull thud, before turning his attention to the small note

The envelope was plain with no return address, its edges were crumpled and weathered, signs of its long journey. As he opened the letter his heart froze in his chest as he read the opening line. "Hey, I know you probably don't want to hear from me, but Mom's dead." Virna wasn't much of a mother. Hell the last Shawn had heard from her was about a year after Chet had died when she had surprised him with the news that she wasn't even his real mother. The woman left with the wind with Chet close behind her at every turn, leaving Shawn alone in their desolate little trailer. As much as he tried Shawn couldn't hate her, he didn't love her but he didn't hate her. He couldn't. She had tried repeatedly to make things work and as much as he resented her for leaving, for being the reason he spent much of his childhood alone, he could never truly hate her for trying. Every now and again he'd get a letter from her but as the months went by the letters became far and few between. She apparently had a heart attack. How Ironic. She went the same way as the man she spent her life trying to escape. The letter was signed "Stacy". Stacy was his stepsister from Virna, she was a good 10 years older than Shawn and when he turned 8 she left and never turned back. When he was younger she and Shawn were close, she even sent over some hair product for Cory one time from wherever she was at the time. But like Virna's letters, she slowly faded out of Shawn's life with the phone calls coming less and less. He hadn't heard a peep from her since he was 15. The funeral was being held in Philadelphia. Home. He wasn't going. There were too many ghosts. He threw the letter away and tried to ignore it. He started up his computer and began writing his article on California for the Hit The Road website. As he typed out his piece a small feeling in the back of his neck began to agitate him. The feeling grew throughout his body until before he knew it he was calling his boss for the week off.  
"Ronny?" he spoke curiously into the phone. "Look I kinda had a family emergency come up and I was wondering if I could maybehavetheweekoff?" He rushed out the last bit. He may not like his job but he doesn't want to push it and lose his only source of income.  
The voice on the other end was hoarse as the middle-aged chain smoker coughed into the receiver.  
"A family emergency? what kind?"  
"A funeral."  
There was a pause.  
"Fine, but I better not find out you spent the week at some dead-end bar or I swear I'll pull some other dead-beat loser from the street and in your place so fast you won't even feel the curb hit you on your way out."  
Shawn awkwardly chuckled at the man's threat.  
"Thanks."  
He hung up the phone and ran his hands through his hair.

As Shawn packed his bags a slow feeling of dread overtook him. As he booked a flight he could feel his lungs tightening in his chest. Thomas Wolfe once wrote, "You can never go home again." And as he locked the door behind him he finally knew why.


	3. Home Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The funeral

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry! I originally was gonna update two chapters a week but then got held up with Schoolwork and writer's block but I'm gonna try to be better at posting more frequently (hopefully). Anyways here are the next two chapters and enjoy.

In all of Shawn's short albeit convoluted life, he has never wanted a plane to crash as much as he does at this very moment. The plane ride is stuffy, crowded, and if he hears one more baby crying he is dead set at chucking himself out the nearest window, which by the looks of it is the one right next to his seat partner, an 80-year-old widower with stringy white hair who keeps wailing about her deceased husband Edgar.   
As the plane settled down Shawn felt his heartbeat quicken as he grabbed his duffel bag from the overhead compartment. His duffel bag, a glorified reminder that like his dad and the trailer, he kept his whole life with him. Things like this made it easy to come and go with the wind. The bag held a couple of T-shirts, some jeans, and some "formal" clothes he had for events he never went too that consisted of black pants and a button downed black shirt. In other words, the bag was his home. He blamed his dad for this. Spending the first half of your life bouncing from stranger to stranger Shawn figured it screwed a part of him up, made him unable to keep somewhere for too long. He exited the plane and tried to calm his heartbeat. It wasn't like anyone would be here waiting for him. 

He entered a small taxi and swung his bag into the trunk. The driver looked to be around his late 50's and would be considered good looking with his salt and pepper hair and his strong jaw if Shawn was interested in men who were old enough to be his father.  
"Where too?" The man peeked into his rearview.  
"The nearest and cheapest motel you can find."  
The man pulled out of the airport and the rest of the ride was set in a dull silence as they made their way around the once familiar Philadelphia streets.

The Motel he ended up at was to his disgust familiar. Philadelphia was home. And like most homes, there's a lot of memories...ghost which lurk just beneath the skin. Memories to some are bubbles of hope, happiness, snapshots of their greatest feats, but to Shawn, they were like scars healed with time but the effects long-lasting. As he paid the Taxi driver and saw him on his way he looked up at the familiar motel. The motel just beyond the highway. The motel where Virna stayed when she was on the fence of what to do next with Chet and Shawn. The Motel where Shawn looked out the window of their trailer just to catch a glimpse of the woman he once called mother. And would you look at that, another memory tied to Cory Matthews who convinced Virna to come back and try to be a family again just for Shawn.   
"Damn." Shawn mumbled under his breath.  
He pulled his duffel bag higher onto his shoulder and entered the run-down building. The place was dingier than he remembered but the shell of the place the motel once was hung around like a cheap ghost. Booking the room he popped open the room door and laid down. The funeral was tomorrow. Drawing his legs to his chest he closed his eyes and wished the world to go away.

Shawn pulled himself up from the old beaten up mattress and began getting himself ready. The black button-up and pants he brought finally got some use, add that to his black shoes and a quick shave...and he was ready. The taxi ride over was tedious. The feeling of walking towards the principal's office returned to him as he willed the car to drive slower than normal. The car, of course, didn't listen to him and before he knew it they were in front of the old Church. Once inside Shawn saw the casket. Virna was older than he remembered but then again so was he, her body was frozen, her arms crossed her chest and her eyes shut. Next to the casket was a woman, Stacy. She had Virna's hair, frizzy and blonde and on her slender frame was a black dress paired with short black heels. Shawn doesn't approach her and takes a seat in the back as the service begins.

As Shawn joined the other's in exiting the small church towards the quiet cemetery he noticed Eddie making his way towards him. He looked the same. Time had not faired him well, his blonde hair was dull and muted, kept short around his face. He wore an old pair of ripped jeans, a black shirt with a red flannel draped over it covering his now lanky frame. Being 15 years older than Shawn, Eddie wore his age on his face, deep, sunken in eyes that had a red tint to them surrounded by dark circles, his smile contorted to a permanent scowl. Shawn was unsure if it was just from living at the trailer park or if they reflected a more self-destructive lifestyle that Shawn had grown accustomed to during his time on the streets before he met Ronny.   
"What the fuck are you doing here?" Eddie yelled as he approached Shawn.  
"What do you think, Visiting Virna." After spending a lifetime with Eddie, Shawn knew how he was and in response settled to ignore him at all costs.  
"Oh. So Mr. Too good for the trailer park finally cared enough for a visit. Real shame it took mom dying to see you around these parts again."   
"Look, Eddie, this is a funeral, Mom's funeral. Don't you have someone else to bother?"  
"Mom? Fuck you, you bastard. Last time I checked Virna wasn't your mother, So I guess what I want to know is what the fuck are you doing here? Though don't get me wrong it won't be too long now before you're right back here with the rest of us. "  
"No. I'm not coming back. At all. That trailer park can burn to the ground for all I care as long as I never have to set foot in it." Just the thought sent Shawn right back to where he was at 14, alone and scared and it was a danger that always left that frame of mind just within reach.  
"Listen, trailer trash that's my home you're talking about and you were born there like the rest of us. And like the rest of us, you'll die there. You aren't better than us....than me. " Eddie started getting agitated before pulling his fist back and swinging first.  
As Shawn took the first blow he finally understood his brother. Eddie was resentful and bitter because he saw Shawn leave the park and live for himself. Growing up rather than try to escape Eddie thrived in the trailer environment committing small acts of vandalism in order to fit in, In the long run, it cost him his future. After the third or sixth blow (It kinda got fuzzy) Eddie was yanked off by Stacy. She called him a bastard among other things and sent him on his way.  
"Look I'm sorry for Eddie back there he was close with her and he's hurting...It was nice seeing you, Shawn." She started to turn away before stopping to reach into her bag, pulling out a small slip of paper.  
"Too much time has passed but if it's not too late I would like to have a relationship with you. I remember we used to be close before life got in the way. I would like to be again." She handed him the paper. "Here's my number. Maybe we can meet up for coffee or something...anyway I have to go....just think about it." And with that, she left. The casket was lowered into the ground as Stacy dealt with the business of paying and with that the crowd started dispersing.  
Looking past the crowd Shawn caught a familiar head of curled hair. Time froze as his heart started beating loudly. Ba-thump. The figure turned to walk away. Ba-thump. Shawn slowly backed away. Ba-thump. The figure for some godforsaken reason looked up making eye contact.  
As Shawn glanced at Cory his breath caught in his throat.  
"Shawn?"


	4. Cory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A flashback and two friends meet again

As the tear welled up in his eyes Shawn drew his knees into his face as he slowly sobbed. He was thirteen and for the third year in a row, his parents weren't there for his birthday. What did he do? Why did they keep leaving? A small part of Shawn slowly started to resent himself for not seeing what clearly everyone else saw wrong with him. He hated that everyone around him never stayed around for long. Then he heard a knock on the trailer door. As he saw the mess of curly hair his crying slowed to a sniffle. Everyone except one. Cory took one look at him and knew what had happened, rather than ask Shawn the whereabouts of Chet and Virna he simply grabbed Shawn's hand and pulled him forward. "Where are we going?"   
"Nowhere. Everywhere. Who knows."  
Cory led Shawn out of the trailer park and before he knew it they were stopped outside of The Paramus Mall.  
"Paramus? Why here?" Shawn asked resentment subsiding into confusion.  
"Just follow me. And don't think too much Shawnie." Rolling his eyes Shawn followed his curly-haired friend towards the food court. Cory told Shawn to find a seat before disappearing into the crowd. After finding a seat and twiddling his thumbs for an annoying amount of time Cory eventually showed up with a small plate containing a single piece of cake. The cake was yellow with a pale chocolate frosting coating it and from the looks of it, the poor creation had probably seen better days, but as Cory smiled proudly as he slid the piece closer to Shawn...He thought it was perfect.  
"Thanks," Shawn responded guiding the plate towards himself. Cory took the seat across Shawn. As he took a small piece and brought the fork to his mouth he noticed that Cory didn't have a slice.  
"Hey, why didn't you get yourself a piece?"   
Cory smiled shyly "I kinda didn't have enough but I really wanted you to have a good birthday-" he glanced around at the packed food court before looking down "I know it's not much but...Happy Birthday, Shawnie." he looked up and smiled brightly. As Shawn stared at Cory his heart swelled. Looking back after everything, Topanga, the marriage, and Shawn running, this day always stood out to Shawn. This was the day, the moment he realized that he was completely in love with Cory Matthews. At this moment they weren't Cory and his missing friend Shawn who had to leave to save his heart from a relentless crush. They were two boys in the great Paramus Mall sharing a slice a cake. Both enjoying the others company unaware of what the future held.  
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------  
As Shawn glanced at Cory his breath caught in his throat.  
"Shawn?"  
As Shawn saw Cory making his way towards him his brain kicked into autopilot and he booked it. His feet crushed the freshly dew filled grass as Cory followed after yelling after him. The heart in his chest begged to be released and his body was wheezing, hiding behind a tree he brought his knees into his face and sat down trying (and failing) to calm his breath. Fate must have one sick sense of humor...that or his younger self was right and the world really was out to get him, either one would explain whatever the hell just happened. As he closed his eyes and leaned against the tree calming his breath to a steady exhale he didn't notice the figure approaching him until he was right next to him.  
"Shawnie?"   
Cory carefully approached Shawn with his arms pointed outwards like he was approaching a wild animal.  
Shawn ignored the question and buried his head deeper into his knees.  
"Am I really that bad of a person that my own friend or whatever can't even say Hi to me?"   
Cory sighed before looking down at his feet.  
"Look...I'm sorry for whatever I did that made you leave. I miss you, you know. And I don't know how it is for you but losing you really hurt."  
He smiled before catching himself and looking at the quiet statue of Shawn   
"But what do you care right. You're the one who left without a reason...It was dumb of me to approach you."   
He turned to walk away.   
"Wait." Shawn whispered, raising his head up and looking towards where Cory was turning around to face him.  
"What do you want Shawn?" Cory looked unsure but there was a slight hint of hurt and what was probably anger visible in his eyes.  
"You." Shawn wanted to say because try as he might he still wasn't over Cory  
Instead, he settled for "Sorry for running, It was a lot between seeing Virna and then you...I guess I was overwhelmed or something." He lied because whatever excuse tumbled out of his mouth was better than saying "I was in love with you and was afraid of seeing you again."  
Cory's eyes softened before he walked closer and sat beside Shawn on the dirt floor.   
"Don't worry, I get it and I'm sorry for your loss."  
"Thanks, I guess. Virna wasn't the best mother but she tried and in the end, that's all we can do...It doesn't hurt like it should."  
Cory looked at Shawn. "What does."  
"Her being dead. She was the only mother I knew, yet her death holds no more meaning to me that a stranger. Does that make me fucked up?"  
"No."  
Shawn looked at his old friend and gave him a weak smile.   
"So what are you doing here? You weren't close with Virna."  
"Oh that. Well mom and dad couldn't make it because they had work so they sent me over to give their condolences and just be their representative here."  
"You visiting?" Shawn asked curious to what Cory was doing here with his parents.  
"Not exactly." Cory said looking away  
"What's that supposed to mean? How are Topanga and Riley?"  
"Me and Topanga split actually...I've been crashing in my old room trying to figure out what's next."  
Shawn's world spun on its side and he felt all the oxygen in his body exit.  
"What do you mean you and Topanga split? You're Cory and Topanga the couple that's supposed to last. Cory and Topanga the couple everyone tells their kids about. What happened?"  
"Nothing...a lot. Look I'm not going through all the details just know It was all my fault. I didn't love her the way that I should." Cory's face looked somber as if reliving a dark memory. He caught Shawn looking and changed his face into a smile.  
"So what about you. What has the great Shawn Hunter been up too?"  
Shawn smiled and if you would have caught them from afar you might have confused them with two boys sharing a cake in a mall someplace. Two boys who had no idea what was coming next.


End file.
